"I cannot just escape into science…"

V.I. Vernadskii (1863-1945) was a major figure in Russian and Soviet science, humanities, and public life. He laid the foundation of modern Earth sciences that include geochemistry, biogeochemistry, radiology, hydrogeology, etc. He retired from his Professorship at Moscow University to protest against persecution of politically active students. The ideas of V.I. Vernadskii played a primary role in the genesis of the modern world view. His scientific and philosophical interests centered around the idea of the biosphere, of living matter forming a terrestrial shell, and of the evolution of the biosphere into the noosphere, in which scientific thought turns into a determining life force comparable in its influence upon nature to geological processes. Vernadskii’s theory about the relationship between nature and society greatly affected modern ecological consciousness. Vernadskii also developed traditions of Russian cosmology based upon the idea of internal unity between mankind and the Universe. The book traces his long life, lived in the midst of the greatest historical upheavals, in which he was at times a keen participant, at times a pained and affected observer.